Antichafing and menstrual garment.



L`. M. MCPHERSON 4% J. P. GRUNDY.

ANTICHAFING AND MENSTRUAL GARMENT.

APPLICATIOLY FILED AUG,7, 1911.

Eatented July 9, i912.

narran srairns enfriar orion.

LEWIS M. MCPHERSON am) MARY J. r. GRUNDY, or. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ANTICHAFING AND MENSTRUAL GABMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

rammed muys, asia.

' applicationaled August 1,1911. serial No. 642,868.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that we, Ijuwis` M. MCPHER- soN and MARY J. F. GRUND'Y, citizens'of the United States, residing at-Chicago, in the Our invention relates to garments worn4 by women tov prevent chafng of thel limbs in the crotch or inner part of thighs, and to prevent the soiling of the clothing during the menstrual periods.

The object of our linvention is to provide a simple garment that can be worn* without discomfort and is particularly adapted for use by stout women.

It is also an object to construct this garment so that a peculiarly shaped napkin used in connection therewith can be readily attached thereto and worn with a great deal more comfort Without danger of the shields of the garment or the clothing of the wearer being stained or soiled, and a further object of our invention is to provide a simply con,- structed but eective napkin that can be used in conjunction with the garment and prevent the percolations of the menstrual iiow or hemorrhage through the napkin to the shields vor other parts of the garment or clothing and will retain and hold the discharge.

These objects we accomplish by the fneans and in the manner "hereinafter fully described and as more particularly pointed out in the claim.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a front view of our invention. Fig. 2 is a central vertical section therethrough. -Fig 3 isa transverse section'through one of the legs of the garment. Fig. 4 is a plan View of the napkin constituting part of said invention. Fig. 5 is a transverse section through the central portion of said napkin.

Referring to the drawings, A represents 'short drawers or trunks, that 'are preferably made of porous fabric and have legs4 a, a. On the inner side of eachdeg weprovide suitably shaped shields B, B, .to` the inside of the fabric. The top of said shields,

preferably, touch the crotch of the legs and their sides to the ends. of elastic bands C that surround the`legs at the thighs. These bands are, preferably, secured to the inside of the fabric of which the garment is composed, and have a tendency to draw the upper edges of the shields away from the crotch and hold them tight to prevent their movement on the limbs of the wearer. The lower angles of the shields extend to the lower edges of the legs, and these lower edges c have an elastic Zf, b, inclosed in the hems with which the edges are finished.

We .prefer to provide the outer side of the fabric of the garment, opposite and in front ,of the bands C, with straps D, D, and one of the lapping ends of one of which is provided with a buckle d, of any of the conventional. designs, so that by tightening saidstraps a better adjustment of the bands at the thighs ofthe wearer can be obtained lto adapt the garment to dierent sized limbs. We do not desire to be confined to the conjoint use of said bands C and straps D, D', as it is obvious that either of them could be used without'the other.

The waist-band E of the drawers is, preferably, made deeper in front and in the rear than at the sides; in other words, has its lower edge at these points extended downward a suitable distance towardthe crotch, and two short straps e, e, secured thereto, which latter, in turn have a more or less semi-circular Hap F secured to their pendent ends. The waisteband and this flap are preferably made of heavier material or of several thicknesses of material or of rubber webbing in order to support the end of the napkin G, which is secured thereto bymeans .of buttons that engage the button-holes f, therein, and at the sides is preferably composed of elastic webbing K, so as to surf round the abdomen comparatively tightly above the hips and insure the napkin being held snugly in the crotch. Y

TheA napkin to which reference has just been made comprises a longitudinally elongated strip of suiiicient lengthto extend through the crotch of the wearer from one flapjF. This strip is adapted to be folded over laterally to make it ofa width o -f about one-half of the original widthof the pattern and the lapping edges of the ends of these folded over portions are, preferably, sewed together, so as to leave the edges of the central portion of its longitudinal edges disconnected for a length about the -equivalent of one-third or one-half the total length of the strip to form a pocket. 'A rectangular pad R, of rubber or other waterproof material is secured to the under` fold g of this pocket preferably in such manner that it can be removed'therefrom when desired. Projecting from the free longitudinal edge of the under fold g of the pocket adjacent to said pad R, is a laterally extending flap h, preferably of the same material as said strip, which, in use, is adapted to be folded over several times and then tucked into said pocket over the rubber pad R. This ila-p h,

when thus folded and tucked into said pocket forms an absorbent for the menstrual flow or hemorrhage, and `when the napkin is being worn it is secured in place in the crotch of the limbs of the wearer in such manner that the waterproof pad will be undermost, andi the absorbent flap upperino-st, and the menstrual flow will be retained by and prevented from percolating through the material of the napkin by the pad. The sewed together ends of the folds of the strip are, preferably, each provided with a button` 7c, and these buttons, when the napkin is-being worn, are adapt-ed to engage in one of a series of button-holes f in padsv E ofthe waist-hand according to the dimensions of the wearer. If desired, the flap L, can be dispensed with, and absorbent cotton-introduced in the central pocket, or both be used. We prefer to use the flap, however.

What we claim as new is:

A garment of the kind specified comprisf ing a pair of drawers, shields attached to the innerrsideseof the legs of the same next the crotch, elastic bands att-ached to the fabA ric of the legs of the garment on the inside, whose ends are att-ached to theshields, overlapping straps secured to said fabric outside of said legs opposite and in the same vplane as said bands, and an elast-ic band hemmed into the lower edges of saidlegs.

In witn ss whereof we have hereunto set ourhands this 31st day ofnJuly, 1911.

LEWIS MuMoPI-IERSON. MARY J. F. GRNDY. Witnesses:

E. K. LUNDY, THOMAS J. HARPER. 

